


Cover Me

by valis2



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Drama, M/M, Slash, Songfic, challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-08
Updated: 2010-11-08
Packaged: 2017-10-13 10:36:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/136364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valis2/pseuds/valis2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick drives back home after Reserve duty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cover Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Glad All Over songfic challenge at the Pier 56 livejournal community. Song chosen: "Cover Me" by Bruce Springsteen.

* * *

Nick bolted from the door, crossing the parking lot as fast as fast as he dared. Rain soaked him within minutes, his shoes striking puddles and spashing water on his legs. The downpour had been going strong for hours and showed no sign of letting up.

He got into the 'Vette, wiping his face with his hands and slicking his hair back. Blinking a few times, he stuck the key in the ignition and brought the car to life with a sputtering roar. Sitting for two weeks while he'd done his Reserve duty hadn't done the car any favors, and he listened carefully as he put it into first and pulled out of the parking lot.

His nerves strummed in anticipation. Two weeks he'd been gone, and now he was on his way to Cody, back to his arms. That thought lit a fire in his chest, made him grin like a fool.

It had only been a month, and yet he was as lovestruck as the first moment Cody had kissed him.

Turning on the radio, he settled back for the long drive down the PCH. He checked station after station, but nothing good came on, and finally he shoved a casette at random into the player.

Bruce's voice came blaring out of the speakers.

 _The times are tough now, just getting tougher  
This old world is rough, it's just getting rougher_

Rough world, indeed. Made him think of growing up on the streets, of having to fight for everything, his bike, his lunch money, respect. He remembered how it felt to be alone, how there was no one to help him, no big brother to protect him, no cousins close enough to shield him.

No father.

He passed a pickup truck and eased back into the right-hand lane.

 _Cover me, come on baby, cover me  
Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me_

He thought of the lovers he'd had. Girls who'd had a fling with him. A couple guys he could trust, or thought he could trust, one long-dead, the other long-gone. He thought of how long he'd hoped for someone who would stay with him, ease his lonely heart, help him and hold him through the nights.

 _Promise me baby you won't let them find us  
Hold me in your arms, let's let our love blind us  
Cover me, shut the door and cover me  
Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me_

The music was rollicking, a driving rhythm with blistering vocals, and he felt such an intense desire for someone to cover him. Someone to close the door on the world and hold him fast, let him be vulnerable, let him be real. When the song finished, he rewound it and listened again, and again, as the miles melted away and the rain continued to pour.

 _Outside's the rain, the driving snow  
I can hear the wild wind blowing  
Turn out the light, bolt the door  
I ain't going out there no more_

The darkness and wet couldn't slow him down; he made it to the pier, parked and dashed out of the 'Vette, slipping and sliding down the companionway to the _Riptide_. Bruce's words rang in his head, and he realized what he'd found in Cody, the warmth, the light, a lover to hold him and protect him. He thought of Cody, his hot body covering him in bed, pressing him down into the mattress, taking away all of the worry and pain and regret, leaving him with nothing but a blinding, white-hot love.

 _This whole world is out there just trying to score  
I've seen enough I don't want to see any more,  
Cover me, come on in and cover me  
I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me...  
Wrap your arms around and cover me  
Looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me_

Cody waited for him in the salon, arms open wide, and Nick grabbed him and pulled him close. "You're wet," complained Cody, but he said it with a smile and there was a gleam of anticipation in his eyes.

"Missed you," whispered Nick. They kissed, hard and delicious and dizzying, and as they stripped off their clothes and crawled into bed Nick felt a fierce joy he'd never felt before. Cody was his, a lover who had climbed right in and covered him, sheltering him. Love burned in his heart as they kissed, slow and hot, promises without words sealed between them.


End file.
